Journal box lid



,.Dvl^ Y VER e OST n TAU r nEC 0 SCE ....H v A N di Tm .m 1v mm N h Tm me L 1 BH HB LA WU EE y B E. H. BLATTNER JOURNAL BOX LID Filed March 3l 1958 Jan. 2, 1962 United States Patent O1 3,015,525 JOURNAL BOX LID Erni! H. Blattner, deceased, late of Williamsville, N.Y.,

by Elizabeth Blattner, execntrix, Rochester, N..Y., assignor to Symington Wayne Corporation, Salisbury,

Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Mar. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 724,948 6 Claims. (Cl. 308-47) This invention relates to journal box lids and has for its primary object the provision of an improved connection between the hood and cover of a so-called articulated lic.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved articulated connection in a journal box lid wherein the hood and cover are connected by and articulate relative to each other through interposed rubber means.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved articulated connection in a journal box lid wherein a yrubber element spaces and seats in confronting seats carried, respectively, by the hood and cover, thereby eliminating metal-to-metal contact and cushioning the transmission of forces between the hood and cover, while permitting suliicient relative articulation thereof for full seating of the cover on the journal box to which the lid is applied.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved articulated connection in a journal box lid wherein a bridge member secured `to the Vlid and an underlying web on the hood are connected by an interposed rubber pad which permits sutiicient relative articulation between the hood and cover for full seating of the cover on the associated journal box without the close tolerances required in the articulatedly connected metal parts of conventional lids and, at the same time, maintains the bridge and web in spaced relation and by cushioning the transmission of forces therebetween, markedly extends the service life of the connection.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularl ly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FiGURE l is a iront elevational view of an articulated journal box lid incorporating a preferred embodiment of the articulated lid of the present invention, portions being broken away and shown in section to more clearly illustrate certain of the details of construction;

FGURB 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along the ylines 3-3 of FlGURE l.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters `designate like parts, the improved articulated connection of the present invention has been applied for purposes of illustration to an articulated journal box lid 1 having a cover or closure member 2 adapted to close an access opening 3 in a journal box 4 by seating against a face 5 on the journal box about the opening. The closure member 2 has connected to it a hood 6 which is pivotally connectable to a hingle lug 7 on the journal box 4 by a pintle pin 8 seatable in aligned openings 9 in the hinge lug and embracing ears 10 on the hood. Connected to the journal box 4 by the hood 6, the cover 2 of the illustrated lid 1, when in closed position, is forced against the access opening defining face 5 on the journal box by spring means, here in the form of a torsion spring 11 carrying on its closed end 12 a roller 13 adapted to bear against the hinge lug 7 and having its coils 14 seating against the underside of the hood and its inturned lower ends 15 bearing against the outer surface 16 of the cover 2 at either side of the latters center.

To ensure that the cover 2, when closed, will seat fully Patented Jan. 2, 1962 ice against the face 5 aboutthe access opening 3 and maintain such seating regardless of possible angling of the hood 6 relative `to the journal box 4, the hood and cover are preferably connected for limited relative articulation or angling and preferably universal angling. In the illustrated embodiment, this is accomplished by forming the lower portion of the hood 6 as a pair of spaced legs 17 connected by a web 18 and straddling the web by a bridge member 19 having its end portions or arms 20 secured or fixed, as by projection welding, to the outer `surface 16 of the cover. As desired, the web 18 and bridge member 19 may have their confronting faces 21 and 22, respectively, bulged toward or away from each other or in the same direction, it sufcing that the web and bridge member carry yor have formed on or in them confronting seats 23 and 24, respectively, for seating an interposed rubber or like pad, cushion or element 25. With its opposite end portions 26 conforming in configuration to the seats 23 and 24, the rubber pad-25 is of sufficient thickness to space the confronting faces 21 and 22 of the web 18 and bridge member 19 for the desired limited relative angling movement therebetween. The yconfiguration of the cover 2 over the larea of the articulated connection in turn will depend upon that of the web 18, a recess or cavity, such as that illustrated at 27, which is straddled by the bridge member 19, ordinarily being required so that the web 18 can be interposed between the outer surface 16 of the cover 2 and confronting face 22 of the bridge member 19 in spaced relation thereto. A

As exemplary of the articulated connections of this invention, that of the illustrated embodiment has the confronting seats 23 and 24 on or in the web 18 and bridge member 19 formed as arcuately concave, preferably substantially concentric hemispherical or spherically concave sockets and the rubber element 25 seating therein is a solid ball having Ibetween its spherically convex end portions 26 an outstanding circumferential ridge or rib 28 for locating the end portions with respect to the outwardly facing seat or socket 23 and the inwardly facing seat or socket 24 during assembly. Correspondingly, the recess 27 in the outer surface 16 of the cover 2, into which the socket 23 on the web 18 projects, is spherically concave.

Applying an inward force to the cover 2 through its lower end 15, the torsion spring 11 also applies a lesser outward force on the web 18 through the reaction of its coils 14 against the underside of the hood 6 and it is this lesser outward force that the rubber element 25 must resist in order to maintain the web and the overlying bridge member 19 in spaced relation. A rubber element composed of neoprene rubber of about 65 durometer hardness has been found especially suited for resisting the outward pressure which usually is on the order of 250 pounds and at the same time yielding, as needed, for relative articulation between the hood 6 and cover 2.

With the web 18 spaced or held away from the cover 2 lby the outward force of the torsion Spring 11 on the hood 6 and from the bridge member 19 by the interposed rubber element 25, the only metal-to-metal contact between the hood and cover, in the closed position of the lid, is through the torsion spring 11 and the outward force which, when transmitted by metal-to-metal contact from the web 1S to the bridge member 19, has heretofore been responsible for ultimate failure yof the bridge member, is at all times cushioned and partially absorbed by the rubber element. Consequently, the improved connection of this invention not only provides articulation to the desired degree to ensure full seating of the cover 2 on the journal box 4, but effectively eliminates the source of failure in present articulated lids.

It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that 3 all modiiications are intended to be included which do not depart from either the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a journal boX lid, the combination with a hood member and a cover member, of an articulated connection between said members including means fixed to said cover member, means xed to said hood member and extending between said rst-named means and cover member, rubber means interposed between'and spacing said fixed means and yieldable to accommodate all relative articulation between said members, and means on said xed means for positioning said rubber means therebetween. i

2. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover, of a bridge member fixed to said cover, a web connecting said legs and interposed between said cover and bridge member, confronting seats carried by said bridge member and web, and rubber means seating in said seats and spacing said bridge member and web, said rubber means being yieldable to accommodate all relative articulation between said hood and cover.

3. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover, -of a bridge member Xed to said cover, a web connecting said legs and interposed between said cover and bridge member, confronting seats carried by said bridge member and web, rubber means seating in said seats and spacing said bridge member and web, said rubber means being yieldable to accommodate all relative articulation between said hood and cover, and

Y a recess in said cover beneath said web for relative spacing therebetween.

4. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced 4legs and a cover, of a substantially central recess in an outer face of said cover, a bridge member straddling said recess and having end portions secured at opposite sides thereof to said cover, a web connecting said legs, an outwardly facing arcuately concave seat in said web and projecting into said recess, a seat on said bridge member and confronting said rst-named seat, and a rubber element seated in said seats and spacing said bridge member and web, said rubber element being yieldable to accommodate all relative articulation between said hood and cover.

5. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover, of a substantially central recess in an outer face lof said cover, a bridge member straddling said recess and having end portions secured at opposite sides thereof to said cover, a web connecting said legs, an outwardly facingarcuately concave seat in said web and projecting into said recess, an arcuately concave seat on said bridge member and confronting said irstnamed seat, and a rubber element seated in said seats and spacing said bridge member and web.

6. In a journal box lid, the combination with a housing having spaced legs, a cover and spring means acting in the closed position of said lid to urge said cover inwardly against an associated journal box and said legs outwardly relative thereto, of `a substantially central recess in an outer face of said cover, a bridge member straddling said recess and secured at opposite sides thereof to said cover, a web connecting said legs and interposed between said cover and bridge member, au outwardly facing spherically concave seat in said web and projecting into said recess, an inwardly facing spherically concave seat in said bridge member and confronting saidv first-named seat, and a rubber ball seating in said seats and spacing said bridge member and web, said housing and cover articulating relatively through said ball.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,138,659 Kindig Nov. 29, 1938 2,292,675 Thiry Aug. 11, 1942 2,571,281 Neher Oct. 16, 1951 2,624,642 Blattner Jan. 6, 1953 

